“Stop following me.” She’d repeated the same refrain many times over the past few days, and every time, it was as if she hadn’t spoken. She had begun to wonder if only she could hear her voice. A strand of hair escaped her clips, and he pushed the stray curl behind her ear, his finger trailing down the side of her neck before he moved safely out of reach.
Against her will, her heart thumped at the simple touch.
She craved more.
Wyatt smiled innocently. “I don’t know what you mean. I came to visit Mother.”
A growl prickled the back her throat. Why did she bother?
Beth snorted at the obvious lie. “Sit. With so much time on your hands, you can help plan the fair.”
Wyatt raised a brow. “I thought everything has been decided.”
“Not yet. You’ll be in charge of the children. The fair will be held outdoors. You need to plan games to keep them entertained.”
Wyatt rubbed his hands together and turned to Brighid. “When do we start?”
“Oh, no you don’t. This is your job. I am going to find Trudy and Paul.” Brighid bolted to her feet, ready to escape.
“Good idea, they’ll be able to give us their perspective.” His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her against the hard length of his body as he escorted her from the room. His sandalwood scent curled around her, and she found herself leaning closer to catch another whiff. Memories of them in bed, him holding her tight, made her breath catch. Her body tingled as she imagined his hands sliding over her breasts.
She was almost used to him touching her all the time.
Almost.
She tried to limit her body’s reaction to him, but a simple look from him set her stomach fluttering.
There were only three days left before the fair, and she didn’t know how much longer she could resist his silent assault on her senses. She had to make a logical decision about her future, not be seduced.
Brighid feared it might already be much too late.
She couldn’t help peeking at him from the corner of her eye, and admire the way the sunshine highlighted the blond streaks in his brown hair. Her fingers twitched to sink into the thick waves. When he caught her staring, he winked, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. She flushed, turning her face away to avoid his too-knowing gaze.
“Come here, you little stinker.” Trudy’s voice rang in the hallway, and Brighid picked up her pace.
Safety in numbers.
She entered the nursery and sat on the floor, the farthest she could get from Wyatt, but within five minutes, she found herself plastered to his side with no idea how she got there. She wiggled away, managing to put a foot of space between them, when he spun around and laid his head in her lap.
She shouldn’t be charmed.
She shouldn’t touch him.
But somehow, her fingers found her way in his hair, and she gave a faint smile.
After an hour, Brighid’s nerves were shattered. “Enough. We have the three-legged race, the halfpenny hunt, the pie eating contest, the barrel race, the ring toss, and the hoop rolling contest. And Wyatt has offered to pay a shilling to each of the winners.” Brighid struggled to her feet, pretending she hadn’t seen Wyatt’s outstretched hand. No way was she going to be tricked into touching him again. Last time he took her hand, he refused to relinquish it.
“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll take a nap.”
Wyatt smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like a good idea.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Alone.”
She slammed the door to the playroom shut behind her. Not waiting for him to follow, she picked up her skirts and sprinted down the hall. He would be only moments behind her. She hesitated outside her room…it would be the first place he’d search. She backed away like it was a trap and whirled for the stairs.
His study.
The last place he’d look.
Halfway down the stairs, she spotted Aaron at the front door, and she rushed up, cursing her breathlessness, which had more to do with the possibility of being caught than any physical effort, and latched onto his arm before he could disappear. “I don’t suppose you could use some company?”
“What do you have in mind?” Nothing showed on his face but a polite, uninterested expression, yet something in his eyes sharpened to razor points that left her feeling dissected.
When she replayed back her question, her eyes widened in horror, and she swatted him. “Not that.”
“Oh, thank God.” A gusty sigh escaped him, and he grinned at her. “You’re a beautiful woman, but if Wyatt thought you’ve even looked at me sideways, it wouldn’t end well. I’ve grown rather fond of certain parts of my anatomy.” He gave her a wicked grin. “Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere but here. Preferably now.”
Aaron raised a brow and glanced at her gown. “I’m heading to the stables to help them ready for the fair.”
It wasn’t a no. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, anxious to be off. “That sounds like heaven.”
“Does Wyatt know where you’re going?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes?”
“Liar.” He cracked a smile and tapped her nose. “If you want to escape, you’d best hurry.”
A pinch of guilt kept her from shoving him out the door. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
He winked at her. “I’m not averse to helping a fair damsel in distress if it means putting Wyatt’s nose out of joint.”
She didn’t wait to hear more. She looped her arm through his, gave one last harried look over her shoulder, and yanked him out the door. “Then what are you standing around for?”
“Where the hell is she?” Wyatt barged into his mother’s room without knocking, angry beyond words. Brighid had disappeared more than three hours ago, and no one had seen her since.
She had given him the slip.
Him.
A renowned spymaster.
Beth clicked her tongue. “Wyatt, if you don’t loosen your stranglehold on her, you’ll only push her further away.”
“You don’t understand. Her life is in danger. If I have to live in her pocket to make sure she survives, so be it.”
“Then you could lose her either way.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. Not while he still had breath in his body. “Where is my wife?”
“I’m here.”
Brighid walked into the room with a spring in her step. How could it be that he wanted to hug her and strangle her at the same time? Her hair was tumbled about her shoulders in a way that tempted him to sift his fingers through the strands. Bits of straw poked out at odd angles in the curls, and clung to her skirts. He narrowed his eyes when a pang of jealousy smacked him in the face.
Not that he believed she would cheat on him.
He knew exactly where she’d gone, and who had taken her.
It was that she’d enjoyed herself and hadn’t invited him along.
“You were looking for me?” She blinked those innocent eyes of hers up at him, and he knew he’d been had.
“You sneaked out without telling me.” He stalked toward her, closing the gap between them in two strides.
Her eyes narrowed, and he stopped short of grabbing her. “I didn’t think I needed to tell you anything, since you seemed to have employed spies around the house to do it for me.”
She swiped at dirty spot on her dress and stuck her dainty nose in the air, as if the matter were settled. “I should change for dinner.”
As he watched her disappear out the door, he narrowed his eyes at the challenge. He went to follow when his mother spoke.
“Loosen your hold, and you might be surprised to find her running toward you instead of away.”
He slammed the door behind him, then paced the hall. He didn’t want to loosen his hold, he liked having her nearby, where he could look at her and touch her whenever he wanted. His pacing increased, back and forth in the hall, glaring at her door each time
he passed.
The closed door only fueled his anger.
She was shutting him out.
Again.
Like all the progress they’d made meant nothing.
He’d had enough.
He marched to the door and threw it open.
His wife stood in the middle of the room, dressed only in her shift. She whirled at his entrance, and he couldn’t stop his eyes from sweeping her nearly naked form.
“What are you doing?” She picked up the discarded dress, holding it in front of her, hiding all those beautiful curves from him.
The reprimand snapped him out of the fantasy…that she had stripped and been waiting for him wearing only a smile.
“You left.”
Wyatt stalked toward her, and her breathing stalled in her chest at his forbidding look.
She didn’t feel threatened.
Not exactly.
There was something very compelling about having all that focus directed at her, and she shivered at the dangerous allure. Because all it would require was one touch for passion to flare to life, and she would forget everything but her need to be close to him.
For each step he took, Brighid retreated until her back smacked into the wall. “Stop it.”
But he didn’t, not until his body was pressed firmly against hers. He grabbed her wrists, forcing her hands to either side of her head. She wiggled to get loose, both wanting him to take things further, and praying he would not, because then he would see how much she yearned for his touch and take advantage of the weakness.
She twisted her wrists to break free, but his hold remained firm. The heat of his body seeped into hers, the rough feel of his hands on her ratcheted the tension higher until it was almost unbearable. “Let me go.”
Before she made a fool of herself.
“Never.” He leaned down, his face only inches from hers, his breath feathering across her mouth. His lips brushed hers when he spoke. “You broke your promise.”
The danger in his silky comment snapped her spine straight. “I will not be a prisoner.”
He loosened his hold, dragging his hands down her arms. Her skin tingled at the contact, and she pressed her back against the wall to keep from arching into him and demanding more. But instead of releasing her, he placed his palms against the wall on either side of her, effectively surrounding her.
He cupped her jaw, tipping her face up to his, and their gazes locked. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
His raw emotion defused her anger, and she rested her forehead against his chest. She’d let things between them go too far. He cared for her, but he didn’t know the truth. She had to tell him, but the thought of losing him terrified her. “You don’t know me or what I am capable of doing.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. She knew this moment would come, but she hadn’t known his opinion would matter so much. She wished she had more time, but he’d somehow found his way into her heart. She had to tell him the truth before he discovered it on his own.
“You know I’m a Druid, but I don’t think you understand what that means.” It took all her courage to lift her head and look him in the eyes. She wanted to judge his reaction without giving him a chance to conceal it. “Why do you think my people are hunted?”
“Tell me.”
He wouldn’t believe her if she told him.
She had to show him.
Her cousins would say she was a fool. Maybe they were right, but when she glanced at him, painful hope lodged in her heart at the possibility of spending a lifetime with him.
Before she did something stupid like throw her arms around him, she thrust out her hands and uncurled her fists.
But his reaction wasn’t what she’d expected.
“You’re hurt.” He cradled her hand in his, a single finger tracing the Celtic knot in the center of her palm, and she bit her lip so she wouldn’t groan at the deceptively simple touch.
She could have smacked herself.
Of course he didn’t know what the symbol meant.
Heat filled her face, and she tugged her hand free before she forgot what she was supposed to be telling him. She balked at openly displaying her power. It would destroy her if his attraction turned into fear.
But she could show him something else. She walked toward the bed. “Come here.”
“Brighid?”
The husky way he spoke her name made her squirm.
“Not that. I want to show you something.” She sat and lifted her feet out for him to inspect. “What do you see?”
He dropped his gaze, his eyes locked on her legs, drawn forward as if in a trance. He knelt and cupped her foot, running a hand up her leg in a lazy caress. “Your tattoos.”
Her foot twitched, and she struggled to breathe as she watched his fingers steal higher and higher. She curled her hands into the duvet to keep from reaching for him.
Then his fingers stopped.
She nearly groaned in complaint, afraid that if she moved, she’d slide off the bed, right into his lap and demand more.
“The tattoo has changed.” He didn’t lift his gaze as he traced the ribbons up her calf.
When she drew back her feet, he grabbed her ankle and dragged her into the sinful warmth of his arms.
“Don’t push me away.”
She dared to believe the promise in his eyes and gave a shaky nod. “Then watch.”
She reluctantly pulled away from his hold and sat back on the bed. She called up her powers and heat surged through the runes, the lines of her feet deepening to a cerulean blue. When Wyatt stood and backed away, fear curdled her stomach, and her spirits plummeted.
She almost called a halt, but she refused to hide anymore. If she didn’t continue, she’d never have the courage to take this step again.
Wind gathered in the room and gave her hair an affectionate tug. The warm air heated her chilled skin, asking for her trust, and she nodded.
As if it were a signal, a current of air whirled around the room before finding its target.
Wyatt.
It swirled around his body in a large caress. His jaw flexed, as if it took everything in him to remain still, his normal tan complexion lightening a few shades. When he reached out to touch the invisible wind, giddiness surged through her, and she allowed the power to fade.
“They hunt us because of what we’re capable of doing. They want to control us and use our powers for their own means. So far, everyone has kept their oath…they’ve all chosen death rather than being held prisoner.”
Wyatt retreated to the chair by the fire. Away from her. She cringed, and a deathly chill burrowed under her skin. He was so distracted, staring at her, that he almost missed the seat. “At the factory, you contained the blast.”
She bit her lip and nodded once. “Yes.”
“Thank heavens.”
Brighid released a shaky breath of such painful hope that her whole body trembled.
He rubbed a hand across his mouth and gripped his jaw. “What other abilities do you possess?”
Pinned under his gaze, she lowered her head, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She smoothed the fabric of her short chemise, feeling suddenly very exposed.
“Brighid?”
“I’m still learning, but my specialty centers on the elements.”
He’d seen a lot of unexplained things while digging through the underbelly of the world. Nothing shocked him anymore, especially the cruelty of human nature. Although her confession was unexpected, several strange occurrences that happened when she was nearby clicked into place.
He might not understand what she could do, but he understood her. For half a second, Wyatt wondered if she’d put a spell on him to make him fall in love with her, but dismissed it as soon as the thought crossed his mind. She’d pushed him away at every opportunity, fought him at every turn as he tried to court her.
No, he succumbed to her charms all on his own.
How could he not?
She wa
s smart, beautiful and mysterious, a seductive combination that drew him from the start. Her gifts only added an extra dimension that he found irresistible.
Even the phantom caress had aroused him, and he bit back a moan of pure desire. He ached to gather her in his arms, tell her it didn’t matter, but if he went anywhere near her, they wouldn’t be leaving the room for a week straight.
He’d been doing his damnedest to keep his hands to himself and his cock in his pants.
He needed to keep his distance and focused on the hunt.
One mistake could get her killed and that was unacceptable.
Just three more days of unrelenting lust and then he could claim her the way his body demanded.
Wyatt stood then winced when his cock throbbed in protest. Tugging down his jacket did little to hide his arousal. He gave her one last look, then ducked his head away from the delectable sight of her nearly naked form sitting before him, gazing up at him in expectation.
“What you told me changes nothing. You’re my wife, and I’ll be proud to stand by your side when I introduce you as such at the fair.”
“Do you really mean it?”
Her smile was blinding, and he swore his heart missed a beat. When she rose and came toward him, his breath stalled in his chest.
Pure joy shone from her face as she gazed up at him. “I have to admit, I’ve been curious about your secrets, too. It will be nice to start fresh between us.”
“What do you mean?” Wyatt cocked his head, his muscles coiled as he waited for her response.
Her smile wilted slightly. “I thought you wanted to put all the lies behind us. You wanted the truth. I’ve shared with you something from my past so dangerous that it puts what remains of my family in danger.” As the silence stretched, her eyes lost that sparkle that so captivated him “But you have no intention of offering me the same, do you?”
“I don’t know what gave you the idea that I was hiding anything. I assure you, you know everything you need to about me.”
Those brilliant green eyes of her narrowed, and she advanced on him. “Get out.”
He backed away, smacking against the door and rebounded off it as he fumbled with the knob. “We should talk about this.”
She stooped and picked up a slipper and lobbed it at his head. He ducked, watching her shoe smack the wall where he’d stood a second ago. When the second slipper flew straight toward him, he dodged behind the door, tripping over his own feet as he stumbled in to the hall.
Druid Surrender (A Druid Quest Novel Book 1) Page 27